Armenian Jet Goes Down In Black Sea, Killing 113

By STEVEN LEE MYERS

Published: May 3, 2006

An Armenian passenger plane crashed into the Black Sea on Wednesday morning as it approached the southern Russian resort city of Sochi.

Airline and emergency officials reported that there were 113 passengers and crewmembers on board and that none appeared to have survived.

The airliner, an Airbus 320 belonging to Armavia airline, was flying to Sochi from Armenia's capital, Yerevan, when it plunged into the sea at 2:15 A.M., the officials said, according to news agencies.

The plane crashed more than three miles from the shore as it tried to land in stormy weather, the officials said.

Dozens of ships and helicopters, themselves struggling with stormy seas, reported finding debris across a wide area, including luggage and unused life preservers, suggesting that those aboard had not prepared for a crash.

By Wednesday morning, Russia's border guard reported that rescuers had pulled 18 bodies from the water.

The cause was not immediately clear, but the plane crashed as it circled a second time to land at Sochi's airport, which is nestled between the Black Sea and the rugged Caucasus foothills. Sochi is one of Russia's most popular resort cities, with seaside hotels and spas.

A spokesman for Armavia told the official Russian Information Agency Novosti that dispatchers at Sochi's airport had initially refused the pilots permission to land because of heavy rain, forcing it to circle and try again. The pilots had not reported an emergency, the Interfax news agency reported.